Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi has announced a 20 per cent reduction in train fares on account of Eidul Fitr, according to a railways ministry statement issued on Saturday.

Earlier in the week, Pakistan Railways (PR) decided to run four Eid special trains to facilitate passengers travelling before and after Eidul Fitr. The special train operation includes a service from Quetta to Peshawar via Sibbi, Sukkur/Rohri, Khanewal, Lahore and Rawalpindi.

“We will start our Eid operation on March 28 with three special trains departing before Eid and one on the third day of Eid,” Pakistan Railways Chief Executive Officer Amir Ali Baloch had told Dawn.

The statement issued today read that on the occasion of Eid, the railways minister had announced “great” news for the public — a 20pc reduction in fares during the festival.

“The reduction in fares will apply to all mail, express and intercity passenger trains,” railway officials were quoted as saying in the statement.

It added that the reduction in fares would apply to bookings for all three days of Eid, but it would not apply to special Eid trains.

“Pakistan Railways has issued a notification regarding the reduction in fares,” the statement said, adding that the purpose of the special discount was to provide relief to the public on the occasion of Eid.

“This initiative is a source of joy for travellers across the country on the occasion of Eid,” the statement said,

“The railways minister also assured that all safety arrangements and the quality of train services would be maintained,” according to the statement.

On Friday, the National Assembly was informed that the security of trains in Balochistan has been beefed up following the terrorist attack on the Jaffar Express.

Minister of State for Rail­ways Bilal Azhar Kayani told the house during the question hour that the Que­tta railway station was set to be fenced. Giving details of enhanced security, he said that previously, 13 security personnel were deployed on each train in Balochistan — five from the Railway police and eight from Frontier Corps (FC).

However, after the recent incidents, security has been further tightened. “Now, each train traveling to Balochistan will have 22 security personnel on board — 11 from the FC and 11 from Railway police,” he said.

Abbasi had also announ­ced on Tuesday that drone surveillance will be launched for all train operations in Balochistan, while CCTV cameras are also bei­­ng installed at railway stations and other sensitive locations in the province and other parts of the country to ensure more security.